History of The Harlem Shake Timeline

In Rucker Park, NY in 1981, a street ball tournament was in full swing.
Called the Entertainer's Basketball Classic, it was founded in 1980 to
feature the best street players and notable basketball players in that
profession. People would flock to Rucker Park for some thrilling
entertainment for over 25 years.

This street ball tournament also attracted a man calling himself Al B.
Al B was a Harlem resident who would wait for the breaks between
basketball tournaments. He would walk onto the court and do his unique
style of dancing that involved shaking his arms and doing jerky
movements of the upper body. His dance caught on with the spectators, as
it was soon called the "Albee" in the areas of Harlem and Rucker.

When asked about the dance, Al B has been quoted to say that the dance
moves are in many ways a drunken shake, much like what alcoholics would
do. He credited the ancient Egyptians with the dance move, saying it was
what mummies would do when wrapped up in their bandages. Since the
mummies couldn't move, all they could do was shake about. This unique
style of dancing was also credited to the Ethiopians, who had a similar
dance named Eskista.

As the news of this dance trend started to spread, the name was changed
from the "Albee" to "The Harlem Shake." Although it was well known in
Harlem, Rucker and other areas of New York, it never really caught
mainstream attention several years later.

The Harlem Shake Hits Mainstream In 2001

It took about 20 years and a music video for people nationwide to find
out about this Harlem dance move. In a music video called "Let's Get
It," a hip-hop singer called G Dep and his dancers put on The Harlem
Shake dance. Yet most people recognize a few of the dance moves in an
earlier music video by G Dep called "Special Delivery" that first
appeared in 1998.

This dance was taught to G Dep by the choreographer Moetion, who would
later go on to teach the singer Eve and the rapper Jadakiss as they
would also feature the dance in their music videos. While given credit
that he was the person who brought the dance move to the masses, Moetion
admitted in 2006 that Al B was the founder of The Harlem Shake.

The Harlem Shake Threatened With Extinction

During the intervening years from 2006, the Harlem Shake has spawned
similar dance moves by other music artists. "The Chicken Noodle Soup"
dance appeared in 2006 by DJ Webstar and Young B. From then on, there
have been some type of version of this dance featured in music videos.

Unfortunately, it is the current Internet age that threatens to erase
all traces of this historic dance move. In May of 2012, DJ producer
Baauer released a song called "The Harlem Shake." The electronic dance
music developed a following and became a hit when the comedian Filthy
Frank used the song in a video that he uploaded to YouTube in February
2013 (it's dubbed "The Harlem Shake Meme"). Filthy Frank's video went
viral and has received 4.5 million views as well as spawned over
8,000,000 other versions of this meme uploaded as YouTube videos. People
have danced in their underwear outside in the wintertime to doing the
"supposed" Harlem Shake while skydiving.

But Harlem residents have been quick to point out that the Harlem Shake
Meme is not the original Harlem Shake once performed by Al B. Critics
have also been quick to voice their concern that the original African
American dance with roots in Harlem could be lost due to this meme
craze. For those people outraged and offended by the meme, they are
hoping the craze dies quickly and disappears, not causing irreversible
damage to the original dance move once held in awe on the basketball
court in Rucker Park in 1981. Yet the damage may have already been done.
When the topic of the Harlem Shake comes up, it may be quickly
associated to the brief dance craze and dismissed without people
contemplating where it was originally founded.

There is no way in telling whether the original Harlem Shake will
survive from this re-creation, or outright stealing, of its dance moves
in a meme mockery done by a comedian to get a few laughs at his YouTube
video. It will have to become a waiting process to see if the history of
The Harlem Shake survives and can be remembered by this generation who
has become dependent on obtaining their entertainment from YouTube
videos versus watching the original dance moves of someone enjoying his
favorite dance at a park.